With the Senate hoping to pass the so-called “grand bargain” budget deal when session resumes next week, Senator Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and Senator Heather Steans, D-Chicago, appeared on “Chicago Tonight” to talk about the ongoing negotiations.

“I commend the leadership in our chamber for setting aside the partisanship that has plagued us for the last two years,” Raoul said. “For this to be successful, there has to be bipartisan cooperation.”

The host asked the senators which parts of the budget deal were essential to them in order for it to pass.

“I need to see that we pay our bills on time, as we did before this governor took the helm,” Raoul said. “We had paid our cycle down to 30 days, so I need to see us pay our bills on time and create some stability.”

Steans emphasized that, although different senators focus on different portions of the legislative package, she is optimistic because they all care about serving the citizens of Illinois.

“What’s going to make this happen is that each one of us here…and many of our colleagues…believe that we have to put the interest of the people of Illinois first,” she said.